Shyqyri Rreli (18 May 1930 – 31 December 2019) was an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player. He spent the majority of his career with Dinamo Tirana, having previously played for

KF Erzeni Klubi i Futbollit Erzeni Shijak is an Albanian football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), t ...

and Puna Tirana, which is the modern day

KF Tirana Klubi i Futbollit Tirana is an Albanian professional football club based in the country's capital city, Tirana, that competes in the Kategoria Superiore, the top tier of Albanian football. The men's football club is part of the multi-discipli ...

. As a coach, he was most noted for being in charge of the Albania national team between 1982 and 1985, and again between 1988 and 1989. He has also managed Albania U21, 17 Nëntori, Teuta Durrës and Shkumbini Peqin.

Playing career

Club

A relatively successful forward for

, Puna Tirana, and Dinamo Tirana in the 1950s, he won four league titles with Dinamo Tirana.

International

He made his debut for

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

in a September 1957

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

away against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, his sole international game

Managerial career

Rreli peaked as a coach of Albania national under-21 football team, which he led to two straight titles of the Balkan Youth Championship (in 1978 and 1981) and to the quarter finals of the Euro 1984, where Albania U21 was among the best 8 European teams. As a coach, he won two straight Albania's titles in 1987-88 and 1988-89 with

. He led Tirana to the best 16 in three European competitions (

1986–87 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1986–87 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won by Ajax in the final against Lokomotive Leipzig. The young Ajax side, which included the likes of Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard and Dennis Bergkamp, was guided to victory by its coa ...

1988–89 European Cup The 1988–89 European Cup was the 34th season of the European Cup football club tournament. The competition was won by Milan, the first time since 1969 and third time overall, comfortably defeated former winners Steaua București in the final. ...

, and

1989–90 European Cup The 1989–90 European Cup was the 35th edition of Europe's premier club football tournament, the European Cup. The final was played at the Praterstadion in Vienna on 23 May 1990. The final was contested by Italian defending champions Milan an ...

). As

Albania national football team The Albania national football team () represents Albania in men's international Association football, football. It is governed by the Albanian Football Federation (FSHF), the governing body for football in Albania. It is a member of UEFA in Eur ...

coach he will be remembered for getting Albania close to qualifying in the Mexico 1986 campaign, most notably through a victory against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and draws against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Personal life

He was the father in law of Mirel Josa, another footballer and coach who married Rreli's daughter Brunilda.

Honours

; as a player * Albanian Superliga: 4 ::

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

, 1955,

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

* Albanian Cup: 3 ::

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

Shyqyri Rreli: Ëndrra shqiptare, “Meksika-86″… sa pranë!
- Telegraf ; as manager * Albanian Superliga: 2 :: 1988,

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

For his achievements Rreli was awarded in 2007 the ''Mjeshter i Madh'' civil medal by then president of Albania Bamir Topi.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rreli, Shyqyri 1930 births 2019 deaths Footballers from Tirana Albanian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Albania men's international footballers KF Erzeni Shijak players KF Tirana players FC Dinamo City players Albanian football managers Albania national football team managers KF Tirana managers KF Teuta managers Shkumbini Peqin managers 20th-century Albanian sportsmen